Accessory for air conditioners



Jan. 12, 1965 w. G. CHRISTIE ACCESSORY FOR AIR CONDITIONERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 15 1962 WALTER 6. CHRIST/E Jan. 12, 1965 w. G. CHRISTIE 3,165,053

ACCESSORY FOR AIR CONDITIONERS Filed Nov. 15, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR WALTER 6. CHRIST/E Jan. 12, 1965 w. G. CHRISTIE ACCESSORY FOR AIR CONDITIONERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 15 1962 INVENTOR WA]. 755 6. CHRIST/E United States Patent "ice 3,165,053 AGCESSGRY FQR AER CGNDITIGNERS Waiter G. Christie, Oyster Bay, NY. (241 E. 51st St, New York 22, N.Y.) Filed Nov. 15, 1962, tier. No. 237,992 4 Claims. (Ci. 989 4) The present invention relates to room air conditioning units and more specifically to an accessory to be used with air conditioning units of the window mounted type, whether mounted in a window or mounted in an especially formed opening in a Wall.

Room air conditioners normally comprise a compressor, condenser, and evaporator connected in refrigerant flow relationship and arranged within a suitable housing which is mounted in a window or aperture leading to the outside and which is divided into at least two separate compartments. The evaporator is mounted within an inner compartment adjacent the room and room air is blown through this compartment over the evaporator where it is cooled and de-humidified before being discharged back into the room. The compressor and condenser are normally mounted in an outer compartment through which outside air is circulated for cooling the compressor and condenser.

Any small outdoor air vents or apertures that are provided in air conditioners have been found to be inadequate, and they do not provide for the elimination of the dust and dirt from the outside air.

In our cities, especially where heavy building construction is always in progress, as in New York City, and in some rural and suburban areas, the outdoor air is heavily contaminated with dust, pollen, smoke, and other matter suspended in the air. It has been found that air conditioned rooms served by such air conditioners do not provide adequate ventilation, especially in the seasons between the need for cooling in the summer and heating in the winter, at which times the automatic controls on the unit do not permit use of the cooling cycle. Also under conditions where there are many guests in a room served by one or more room air conditioners, it has been found to be impossible to keep the room sufficiently ventilated to be comfortable.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an accessory for an air conditioning unit to provide for up to 100% outdoor air intake at any time, and to provide for complete summer and winter ventilation, and it is a further object to increase the usefulness of the air conditioning units during the marginal seasons of spring and fall when the automatic controls of the units do not permit operation of the cooling cycle, and it is a still further object of the present invention to provide an accessory that, without any modification of the unit, will add the benefits of 100% outside air intake, or proportioned recirculation of indoor air with outside air from 0% to 100% whether the unit is cooling, heating (reverse cycle), or merely ventilating by operation of the fans.

Other and further objects and advantages will appear from the following specification taken with the accompanying drawings in which like characters of reference refer to similar parts in the several views and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the device of the present invention in place as seen from within a room served by an air conditioning unit;

FIGURE 2 is a section of the accessory of the present invention taken on line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view from the rear of the hood;

FIGURE 4 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the accessory, showing how it is mounted in a Window;

3,lh5,fi53 Patented Jan. 12, T965 FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section of a portion of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view from the rear of the hood showing the friction means by which the damper is held in adjusted position; and

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary perspective view partly in section showing the means to secure the hood to the unit at the top.

In FIGURE 1 the device of the present invention is shown mounted with an air conditioning unit 1. While the air conditioning unit chosen to illustrate the present invention is one made by the Chrysler Corporation, it is adaptable, with minor variations, to be made to fit units made by other corporations. The differences will be principally the proportioning of the hood 2 which extends the full width of the air intake of the unit and eX- tends to a point below the air intake of the unit.

Such units conventionally are provided with a large area air intake from the room being served, so as to pro vide for a large filter area at the lower front of the unit. In FIGURE 2 the filter is seen in section at 3. This filter is a standard part of such units and does not constitute a part of the present invention.

Hood 2 as seen in FIGURE 2 extends downwardly below the lower edge of the unit 1 to overlie the end of an air duct 4.

Air duct 4 extends from the front face of the air conditioning unit 1 to a position outwardly of the wall in which the unit is mounted. The outward end of the duct 4 is preferably closed at Sand an opening 6 is provided in the bottom of the duct 4. A bird screen 7 is mounted across the opening 6 to prevent clogging of the vent by bird nests.

The end of the air duct 4 at the end adjacent the face of the air conditioning unit within the room being served is formed with'an inturned edge as seen at 8 along the bottom and at the vertical walls of the duct at 9. The upper surface of the duct 4 is turned upwardly as seen at 10.

The air conditioning unit is not, as a rule, as Wide as the window in which it is mounted. For this reason the mounting kit provided by the manufacturers of the units includes not only a bracket indicated in FIGURE 2 to be secured to the window and window fname, but also filler means (not numbered) to close the window opening on each side of the unit as seen in FIGURE 1.

The unit is fairly heavy so requires a secure mounting of adequate strength. The device of the present invention having the duct 4 extending below the unit requires the unit to be raised by the distance required for the duct, and since the bracket to support the unit must be supported by a structure of adequate strength, an element 11 is provided. Element 11, as seen in FIGURE 4 is formed of two parts 12 and 13 that may be spot welded to form a unit. The upturned'fiange 10 is received between the front flanges of elements 12 and 13. Element 11 is made in lengths longer than the width of the window with which the unit may be mounted and is to be cut to fit the window at the time of installation. A post element 14 is provided to be secured to the window frame at each end to which the element 11 may be secured. A filler element 15, comprising a post element 16 and a panel 17, as seen in FIGURE 4, is provided that may be cut to the length required to extend between the duct 4 and the post 14. Panel 17 is preferably shaped with a flange 17' to engage and be secured to the window sill. Element 16 may be secured to element 11 by any convenient means.

It will be seen, then, that upon mounting duct 4 in the window and adding the elements 11, I4 and 15, a strong support element is provided for the unit which is then mounted in the window just as though element 12 were the window sill.

After the unit has been mounted directly over the duct 4,-the hood 2 may be placed in position.

Air conditioning units are provided with decorative grills or cover elements to hide the filter and other equipment within the unit. The decorative grill is dispensed with in the present instance and the hood, seen from the rear in FIGURE 3 is mounted to cover the front of the .duct 4 and of the air intake area of unit ll.

Hood 2 comprises a front panel 13, a top closing and mounting panel 19, and side panels 20. The side panels shown are tapered so that panel 18 is spaced farther from the unit at the bottom than at the top. Panel 18 extends downwardly to about the level of the bottom of the unit. The side panels 20 below the panel 18 extend downwardly and inwardly to the plane of the bottom of duct 4,

The edges of panels 20 adjacent the front of the unit are turned inwardly at 20' to reinforce the panels 20. An

inverted U-shaped channel 21 extends across the bottom This inverted U is adapted to engage over the inturned edge 8 of the duct to hold the bottom of the hood in place.

The top of the hood 19 has a portion extending into the unit between its side walls. At the inner end of this portion the panel 19 is turned downwardly at 19. A spring pressed detent 22 of conventional design is secured at each side to 19 and 19'.

This detent 22 is placed so that as the panel 19 is thrust into the front of the unit the detent is cammed into the unit and snaps behind any convenient projection within the unit and, having a rounded nose, can be cammed outwardly again. Conventionally, air conditioning units include inwardly curled edges as seen in FIG- URES 7 and 23. This inturned portion may conveniently be used to engage detent 22 to hold the hood 2 in place.

The lower edge of panels 20 extend downwardly from the lower edge of panel 18 to the bottom of the duct 4. A damper 24 is pivoted at 25 to the end panels 20. Pivots 25 may conveniently be short pieces of tube secured to damper 24 at each end, and a screw extending through a hole in panels 2t and into tubes 25. Damper 24 may be positioned in any position between the position shown full line in FIGURE 2 where the bottom of the hood is closed, and the passage from air inlet 6 to the .unit through air duct 4 and hood 2 is fully open to the position shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 2 where the air duct is closed and full flow of air may pass to the unit from the room being served.

In order that the damper may be operated, a handle 26 may be provided. To hold the damper in any desired position, a friction device may be provided. On the back of damper 24 an arcuate flat spring element 27 is shown that extends rearwardly toward the air duct 4. A bifurcated bracket 28 is mounted on element 21 and extends up to a strut 29 that extends from side to side across the rear of hood 2 and secured to 20' at each side.

On bracket 28 a housing 39 is mounted in a manner so as to be adjustable up and down. Arcuate element 27 extends between the bifurcated portion of bracket 28 above housingStl. As seen in FIGURE 6, a friction roller 31 is resiliently supported on housing 30 to be biased upwardly against arcuate element 27. Any convenient spring means may be provided in housing 30 to provide upward thrust on roller 31.

While a single embodiment of the invention is herein illustrated and described, it will be understood that modifications may be made in the construction and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, without limitation in this respect, the invention is defined in the following claims.

I therefore claim:

1. An accessory to be used with a room air conditioning unit of the type that is mounted by a bracket secured in an aperture such as a window in a wall of a room, and is provided with a large air intake area on the side of the unit facing the room to be served, said accessory comprising a fresh air inlet duct to extend through said aperture to present an outdoor air intake opening at the end remote from said room to be served, and to present an air inlet opening facing into the room to be served, a frame means including means to be secured to the building at each side of said inlet duct and a channel element to support said bracket, said channel extending across the top edge of said inlet duct at the air inlet opening and adapted to be secured in position extending across said aperture, interlocking means on said inlet duct and on said channel element extending along the upper edge of said inlet duct, hood means adapted to extend from the bottom edge of said inlet duct at said inlet opening upwardly to cover the intake area of said unit to form an air passage from said air inlet opening to said unit, the bottom of said hood being open, and damper means mounted on said hood adjacent said air inlet opening of said duct, said damper means being pivoted to the lower extremity of said hood to be swingable from a position closing the open bottom of said hood to a position closing said air inlet opening of said duct, and means to hold said damper means in any adjusted position.

2, An accessory for use with an air conditioner unit of the type to be mounted in a window having a frame, said air conditioner having an air intake port including an air filter at the lower portion of the unit, said accessory comprising a sheet metal duct adapted to extend through a window or the like opening in a building to provide an indoor end and an outdoor end, said sheet metal duct being formed with a screened air intake opening positioned near the outdoor end of said duct, an incurled bead formed across the bottom of the indoor end of said duct, an upturned flange extending acros the upper edge of the indoor end of said duct, a channel shaped reinforcing element adapted to receive said upturned flange and to provide a support for the air conditioner unit, said channel shaped reinforcing element extending the entire width of the window, post elements ad a filter element adapted to be placed between said sheet metal duct and the Window frame to position and support said reinforcing element, a hood means provided along its lower edge with a downwardly facing hook portion adapted to engage said incurled bead, said hood means having an open bottom adjacent said hook portion, two side walls extending upwardly from said hook portion at each side of said duct, a top panel connecting the top extremities of said side walls, and a front panel forming with said side walls an air passage connecting said duct to said air intake port, said top panel being shaped to extend into said air intake port, and resilient detent means mounted on said top panel to engage said air conditioner unit within said air intake port to hold said hood means in position.

3. The accessory of claim 2 in which damper means are provided pivotally mounted on said side walls adjacent said hook portion adapted to swing adjustably from a position closing the said duct to a position closing the open bottom of said hood means, and friction means to hold said damper means in adjusted position.

4. An accessory for a self-contained, Window mounted room air conditioning unit presenting a large intake opening Within a room; said accessory comprising mounting means adapted to be fixed in a window opening, air duct means adapted to be secured in said window opening by said mounting means and providing a passage for air through said window opening, said mounting means providing a support for the air conditioning unit to position said air conditioning unit over said air duct means, hood means having an open bottom positioned at the room end of said air duct and extending upwardly to cover the large air intake opening of the air conditioning unit in the room, and damper means hingedly mounted in said hood at a point adjacent said air duct adjacent its lowest point, said damper means being swingable to be selectively seated against the end of said air duct means to close 011: said air duct means and to permit flow of air to the large air intake opening of the air conditioner through the open bottom of said hood means, or to be swung into a position to close said open bottom of said hood means and to permit flow of air through said duct means to said large air intake opening, or to be positioned at any intermediate position whereby the floW of air to the large air i5 intake opening of said air conditioning unit Within the room may be regulated.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,837,905 12/31 Hart et al. 165-181 X 2,218,330 10/40 Eliason 98-94 2,286,749 6/42 McElgin 236-37 X 2,525,868 10/50 Corhanidis.

2,937,588 5/60 Masin et al 62262 X 3,139,020 6/64 Schemenauer 23613 X ROBERT A. OLEARY, Primary Examiner. 

4. AN ACCESSORY FOR SELF-CONTAINED, WINDOW MOUNTED ROOM AIR CONDITIONING UNIT PRESENTING A LARGE INTAKE OPENING WITHIN A ROOM; SAID ACCESSORY COMPRISING MOUNTING MEANS ADAPTED TO BE SECURED IN SAID WINDOW OPENING, AIR DUCT MEANS ADAPTED TO BE SECURED IN SAID WINDOW OPENING BY SAID MOUNTING MEANS AND PROVIDING A PASSAGE FOR AIR THROUGH SAID WINDOW OPENING, SAID MOUNTING MEANS PROVIDING A SUPPORT FOR THE AIR CONDITIONING UNIT TO POSITION SAID AIR CONDITIONING UNIT OVER SAID AIR DUCT MEANS, HOOD MEANS HAVING AN OPEN BOTTOM POSITIONED AT THE ROOM END OF SAID AIR DUCT AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY TO COVER THE LARGE AIR INTAKE OPENING OF THE AIR CONDITIONING UNIT IN THE ROOM, AND DAMPER MEANS HINGEDLY MOUNTED IN SAID HOOD AT A POINT ADJACENT SAID AIR DUCT ADJACENT ITS LOWEST POINT, SAID DAMPER MEANS BEING SWINGABLE TO BE SELECTIVELY SEATED AGAINST THE END OF SAID AIR DUCT MEANS TO CLOSE OFF SAID AIR DUCT MEANS AND TO PERMIT FLOW OF AIR TO THE LARGE AIR INTAKE OPENING OF THE AIR CONDITIONER THROUGH THE 